The One He Couldn't Kill
by To'M'L Kuran
Summary: Uchiha Noriko is a shy, timid pacifist who's always seen Itachi as her protector. Follow Noriko through her childhood with Itachi and her adult life when he leaves her behind to join the Akatsuki. Rated for possible lemons in the future and character death. Itachi X OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Welcome to my new story! I promise it won't suck like my last Naruto story. That one got rushed, so I'm taking my time with this one, developing backstory and the relationship between Itachi and Noriko. I hope you like this! Let me know if you do please. Reviews make a happy To'M'L! **

**I don't own Naruto. I just think work at a bookshop in Konoha (I wish)**

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><p>Five year old Uchiha Noriko clung to her distant cousin, Uchiha Itachi, as the sounds of battle rang across the village and throughout the Uchiha compound. Itachi allowed his cousin to cling to him while he held his new born brother in his arms.<p>

"I'm scared Itachi," Noriko whispered. "What if something happens to Mommy and Daddy or Auntie and Uncle?"

"It will be alright, Noriko; they are all strong ninja. They are doing their best to protect the village now, so we must do our best to protect Sasuke."

Noriko wiped a tear from her eyes and put on a brave face.

"Right!" She declared. "We have to protect Sasuke-chan! And you'll protect me, right Itachi?"

Itachi nodded. "I'll always protect you, Noriko."

Noriko smiled and nuzzled Itachi affectionately.

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><p>Noriko held Itachi's hand tightly.<p>

"What if I'm not any good? What if no one likes me? What if I never become a ninja?"

"None of those things will happen, Noriko," Itachi assured her. "We Uchiha are said to be geniuses. Of course you will be good. I've seen you train with your father: you're getting better every day. You are a very kind girl, Noriko; of course people will like you. If nothing else, I will be there, and I care for you very much. And if you do not become a ninja, then you will find something of equal importance to do with your life. Whatever you choose to do with your life is your choice and you will do well at it."

"You really think so, Itachi?"

"Yes, I truly believe that. You are the type of person who never gives up, no matter how frightened you are by uncertainties. You will thrive and succeed in this world because of that will to never give up."

Noriko hugged Itachi.

"You're the best, Itachi! You always know what to say to me when I'm scared."

"Hn." was Itachi's reply.

This caused Noriko to giggle.

"Come on! We're going to be late for our first day of school!"

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><p>Noriko and Itachi thrived at the academy. While Noriko was rather timid, she was intelligent and kind; she quickly gained friends and her grades were towards the top of the class. Itachi out did everyone in both skill and knowledge. Before long, he had passed out of the academy, leaving his timid cousin behind. While she was proud of him, Noriko missed spending every day with Itachi. He was always busy with missions and training as a genin. This caused Noriko to work harder in her studies. Although she was primarily a long-distance, non-aggressive fighter (using genjutsu and fire-based ninjutsu), she began working on her other areas as well. Before long, she became skilled in all areas of the shinobi arts. While her weakest was still her close-range taijutsu, she was no longer timid and afraid to hit her target. Her weapon skills increased, and she found herself quite talented with a sword. She perfected her fire ball jutsu. And her genjutsu, still her strongest, became top notch for her age. She graduated a little over a year and a half after Itachi did at the age of 8. Around the same time, Itachi gained control over his Sharingan. Noriko felt like she was even further away from Itachi.<p>

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><p>Noriko spent her first few years as a genin trying to catch up with Itachi. They were on different teams so they rarely saw each other unless it was around the Uchiha compound. Missions filled their lives now, and Itachi was always training when he wasn't on a mission. Noriko missed Itachi: her protector, her friend. But soon, she would see a lot more of him. The chunin exams were coming up and they both were entered.<p>

**End Chapter 1**

**I hope you liked it. Wasn't too much action, but I wanted to set up some basic information about Noriko and her relationship with Itachi before moving on to the rest of the story. Reviews make me happy :)**

**Next time: Chunin Exams Part 1!**

**See ya next time**

**-To'M'L**


	2. Chapter 2

**sorry this took so long. My computer's missing. Thanks for some great reviews!**

'Breath, Noriko, just breath. You can do this.'

"Noriko! Hurry up!" a 13 year old Hyuuga boy snapped, pulling Noriko from her internal pep talk.

"Coming Hikaru-kun!"

Noriko headed over to her team. Hyuuga Hikaru: the 13 year old Hyuuga was the oldest of their team members and self appointed leader. He kept a cool head in rough situations, but overly enjoyed giving orders to his two younger team mates. Aburame Ayaka: the Aburame clan member had a mother who was a master genjutsu user. Her mother and father taught her to combine their talents. Ayaka's body was host to hypnotic moths. Their Jonin teacher was Nara Shikako: a middle aged man who was training Hikaru in the art of strategy.

Now it was time for the first part of the Chunin exams: the written part. Shikako had no doubt all of his team would pass. All of them had graduated around the same time-at the ages of 7, 9, and 10-and had been training together for the last three years. All three were geniuses.

"Alright you three," Shikako said, calling his subordinates to attention. "You've got this. I've been putting as much emphasis on your mental training as your physical training for the entire time we've been together. You all know the answers. These exams should be a breeze for you. That said, don't get cocky. If you guys slack off, I'll hand you over to Might Guy and he'll have you three run his training course with him."

The three of them gulped. Only Hikaru was a mainly taijutsu user, even then he wasn't the same type of taijutsu user as Guy-san was.

Shikako's expression softened from a stern look to one of endearment.

"You've guys got this. Go knock 'em dead!"

The three genin saluted their sensei and headed into the exam room.

The seats for the exam were alphabetically arranged. Ayaka was in the front of the room, Hikaru in the middle, and Noriko in the back, next to Itachi. As Noriko took her seat, she smiled at her friend, who smiled back.

"It's been a while, Noriko," he said.

"Yeah, I guess we've both been busy with missions and training. How do you like your team?"

"They're all fairly nice; they're good ninja. How do you like yours?"

"They're awesome! I love them! Hikaru-kun can get kind of bossy, but that's alright. Ayaka-chan is really nice, but her moths freak me out a little bit. Shikako-sensei is a little stern, but he's really smart. He's training Hikaru-kun to be our leader for when we start doing missions without him. Sensei scared me a little bit before we came in here though. He said that if we got cocky and failed because of that, that he'd have Gai-san run his training course with us."

Itachi chuckled lightly. "That's a serious threat your sensei sent you."

Noriko shuttered. "I don't want to run laps with Gai-san! I'm even more nervous now with that threat lingering over my head!"

Itachi smiled at his friend. He had missed their conversations. Noriko was very different from the other Uchihas; she always wore her heart on her sleeve.

"Let's do our best, Noriko," he said softly with a smile.

Noriko replied with a sharp nod.

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><p>The test was supposed to challenge them, prove that their knowledge was that of a chunin, but Noriko found it rather easy. She knew her team mates and Itachi had no problem with the exam either; all of them were very skilled mentally.<p>

The next day, they all found their names on the list of passing genin.

The next exam was team battles in one of the most dangerous training grounds: The Forest of Death.

The teams were lined up outside the forest, waiting for the second exam to begin. Noriko was shaking in her knee-high boots.

"Don't shake so much, Noriko," Hikaru told her. "The other teams will think we're weak and try to pick us off first."

The test was to take two scrolls to the tower in the middle of the forest before five days were up. The catch was, you only started with one; you had to seal the second scroll from another team.

"I can't help it! I'm terrified!"

"Some Uchiha you are!" he snapped.

Noriko looked down; her friend had hit a sore spot. It was well known amongst the Uchiha clan that while Noriko was a strong ninja, she was a piss poor Uchiha. She was very open with her emotions and had yet to awaken her Sharingan.

Hikaru noticed Noriko's saddened epression and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way, Noriko. Just relax; we're all going to be fine. My Byakugan will spot anyone who gets near us, and we'll easily take down anyone who crosses us. So, chin up and stop worrying so much."

Noriko threw her arms around the flustered Hyuga. "Thanks, Hikaru-kun. Sorry I'm such a scaredy cat."

Hoirko had her face buried in her team mate's shirt, so she failed to notice the blush creeping up Hikaru's cheeks.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said softly.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to Hikaru's Byakugan, Team Shikako made it through the forest of death quite easily. They now stood in line with nine other genin, including Itachi's team. The Hokage stood in front of them and congratulated them for making it this far. He explained the purpose of the test and how the third round of the exams would take place in a months time in front of the entire village as well as guests from many other lands. After the Hokage's speech, they all drew numbers to see who would fight each other in the first round of the third exam. Noriko looked at the board with horrified eyes as she saw her number next to Hikaru's.

'I don't stand a chance!' she thought.

Hikaru looked sad as well. Part of him wanted to throw the match, but he knew his teammate would never forgive him for doing such a thing.

The Hokage dismissed the genin and Noriko, Ayaka, and Hikaru went to find their sensei.

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><p>"Hmm...Noriko's fighting Hikaru for the first round?" Shikako mused aloud.<p>

"That is correct, Sensei," Ayaka said. The purple-clad kunoichi's voice exposed none of her emotions, but, behind her sunglasses, she was concerned for her friends.

"Sensei, do I have to fight Hikaru-kun? He'll destroy me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Noriko!" Hikaru defended himself.

"What? Are you saying you're going to let me win? I don't want to win if you don't give it your all, Hikaru-kun!"

"I know! Just-ERR! I don't want to hurt you, Noriko, but we have to fight!"

"Hikaru's right," Shikako said. "An Uchiha versus a Hyuga...That's a match they'll be wanting to see. The crowd will have a fit if you two don't fight. Besides that, you've both worked too hard to both drop out now."

"I'm going to lose so badly!"

"This match isn't about winning or losing. It's about proving your skills. Don't worry about winning; worry about showing off all that you can do in every area."

Noriko nodded.

"Alright you guys. Here's the deal. I can't train you all during this time, especially with Noriko and Hikaru fighting each other. You'll have to get your own trainers for this time. I can give you some suggestions, but it's ultimately up to you as an individual to track them down and ask for their assistance. These tests are to see if you're chunin material. That means no one will be holding your hand anymore. Now, as for my recommendations, you all come from highly distinguished clans with unique jutsu; I recommend you use that to your advantage and train with one of your clansmen. Noriko, I recommend your father. He's familiar with your abilities and is known for his fire techniques; have him play to your strengths and work on defending your weaknesses. Hikaru, I'm going to recommend Hizashi. You may not be able to learn any of the Hyuga main branch techniques from him, but he's a highly skilled jonin; see if he'll take you under his wing. Ayaka, I'm recommending Yuhi Kurenai. I know she's not part of your clan, but Kurenai is a genjutsu specialist; she'll be able to help you perfect your techniques." Shikako looked over his team for a moment with fondness in his eyes. "I'm very proud of all three of you. You've come far in the last few years we've been together. I have no doubt in my mind that you can all succeed in this last exam. Now, that's enough of this touchy-feely bull shit. Get out of here, you brats!"

"Hai, Sensei!"

As the three genin left to find their respective teachers, Shikako found himself smirking with pride. He liked to act tough and pretend he wasn't too attached to his team, but the three pre-teens had grown on him. He was proud to call them his students.

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><p>"Hey, Tou-san? Can I ask you something?" Noriko asked as she poked her head into her father's study.<p>

Uchiha Katsuo looked up from his papers to glance at his only child. "What is it, Noriko?"

"Can you train me?"

"I've been training you," he reminded her.

"I mean for the chunin exams. Shikako-sensei said we need to find our own trainer. You're one of the best Uchiha as far as the clan fire jutsus go. I don't know if I can beat Hikaru-kun, but I want to give him the best fight I can."

"You're up against the Hyuga boy, eh?"

Noriko nodded.

Her father chuckled. "We'll take him to the cleaners."

Noriko smiled and threw her arms around her father's neck. "Thank you Tou-san!"

Katsuo held his daughter in his arms. She may not be very reserved about her emotions or have awakened her Sharingan, but she was still the star of his life, even if she wasn't the star of the Uchiha clan.

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><p>Noriko sat on the pier over looking the lake on the Uchiha property. Her hands were burnt from all the fire she had dealt with today and she was very tired, but she knew the results would be worth it in the end. She was so happy her father was taking her training to the next level. She only hoped she could make him proud.<p>

Noriko looked up as she heard footsteps behind her.

"How is your training going, Noriko?"

"Itachi! It's going great! Tou-san is teaching me the family jutsu! My hands are a little burnt, but I'm so happy I finally have a chance to make him proud!"

Itachi smiled. "I'm glad it is going well for you."

"How about you? Who's doing your training?"

"My father."

"Oh. How's that going?"

"As well as it can be. He is as harsh and demanding as ever."

Noriko giggled, knowing how the clan's leader could be.

"Let's do our best, Itachi. Let's both become great ninja, together."

Itachi smiled and took his relative's hand.

"Together." He agreed.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks to everyone who's fav, followed, andor reviewed :) I know Itachi hasn't been it too much so far, but believe me, I'm leading up to it. He'll be coming up more in the next two chapters. I'm trying to take things slowly this time. All my other stories have rushed into the romance, but I'm going to let them be children for now. I promise to develop their bond and do this right. Because Itachi deserves a proper romance :)  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for some great reviews. Glad you guys are liking this :)**

**Here's a link to my Pinterest board for this story: ashtonthericker/the-one-he-couldnt-kill/**

**Enjoy the new chapter. I apologies in advance if my battle scenes suck. I've never been good with battle scenes, but I'm doing my best. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames please.  
><strong>

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><p>Noriko drew a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She and the other eight genin stood side by side, each person next to their opponent: Noriko next to Hikaru, Ayaka next to Isamu (one of Itachi's team mates), Itachi next to Kaede from the sand, Kimiko (itachi's other team mate) and Riku from sand, and finally the last sand team member, Shin, who would be facing the winner of the match between Kimiko and Riku.<p>

Noriko sized up her perspective opponents. She and Itachi were the youngest; Itachi's team mates were in their teens and the sand team was even older. Everyone here had more experience in life and as a ninja. She clenched the handle of her new sword tightly. The shield like sword had been a heirloom from her mother's great-grandfather. Once her mother, Uchiha Akemi, had heard about Noriko's match against Hikaru, she had insisted on taking part in her daughter's training. Noriko has shown promise with a sword and Akemi was one of the best swordsmen in the Uchiha clan, using the unique sword passed down from mother to daughter since it was first given to Akemi's grandmother. Noriko thought back to her training with her mother.

_"This sword is used for offense and defense, Noriko. You can use it as a shield or as a weapon against your opponent. This will help you defend against the Hyuga's Gentle Fist style. As soon as I heard you were up against a Hyuga, I knew it was time to pass down the sword."_

_"This is an heirloom?"_

_"Absolutely. This sword first belonged to my great-grandfather. He and my great-grandmother were lovers, but not married. He didn't know she was pregnant when he died in battle. The first Hokage brought back his sword from the battle field and gave it to my great-grandmother. She was an excellent swordsmen and trained her daughter in the way of the sword, passing down her the shield-like sword when she was old enough. My grandmother trained my mother and my mother trained me. Now it's your turn."_

_Noriko grasped the handle and the chain attached to it, feeling the pride of her family flow through her._

_"Hey, Kaa-san? Who was your great-grandfather?"_

_"Oh, that's a story for another time, dear," Akemi said with a smile._

Noriko didn't notice that Itachi was staring at the sword in her hands, knowing well who it had once belonged to.

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><p>It was time. Noriko and Hikaru stood in their respective fighting stances, Hikaru ready to use Gentle Fist and Noriko with her sword at the ready.<p>

"Begin!"

Both genin jumped back, trying to prepare their own strategy while anticipating what the other will do.

"Nice sword there, Noriko," Hikaru commented. "Is it new?"

"Yeah, my mother gave it to me. It's a family heirloom given to me especially for this fight. I've been training hard, Hikaru-kun. I won't lose."

Hikaru smiled sincerely. "You must have been training really hard, Noriko; this is the most confident I've ever heard you in the three years we've been teammates. I promise I'll give you a good fight."

Noriko smirked. "Come!"

Hikaru charged at Noriko, trying to bring her in range of his gentle fist attacks. He knew that she would increase their distance, as she was mostly a distance fighter, and use either fire-style ninjutsu or her sword, which she could use at a distance because of its chain. He had to block her tenketsu to bring her down. He charged chakra into his hands as he approached her. She swung her sword in front of him, blocking his attack and pushing him back at the same time. Noriko thrust her sword at him to increase the distance between them and used a quick series of hand seals to preform one of the fire style techniques she had learned.

"Fire Style: Dragon's Breath Jutsu!"

Hikaru gasped as the fire took the shape of a dragon and started towards him. He summoned his chakra to his palms and used it like a shield against the fiery dragon, since it had been fairly close ranged and there wasn't time to dodge it. The effort left him slightly winded.

"Your father's training has paid off. If I recall correctly, that technique is at least a B rank jutsu."

Noriko smiled cheerfully at her teammates compliment, but didn't let it distract her.

The fight continued on, Noriko playing the defensive while Hikaru attacked, but the fight still seemed to be in Noriko's favor even if she wasn't actively attacking. She would let Hikaru attack her and defend against him while pushing him back with either her sword or a fire technique. The fight had continued for a long time and Hikaru was getting low on chakra while Noriko was still fresh.

"What's your plan, Noriko? I still can't figure it out. My techniques are all close ranged, so I have to get close to you in order to fight. You, however, are terrible with close ranged fighting, and yet you remain within range of my attacks. Almost like you want to be attacked. Why?"

"Hikaru-kun, if I told you, then my strategy would be ruined," Noriko said sweetly.

'She's so different when she's fighting,' Hikaru thought. 'It's almost like she's toying with me. The Noriko I know isn't nearly this confident in her attacks. Something's wrong. Noriko's not like this. That's it!'

Hikaru ceased his attacking.

"You're not the real Noriko, are you? Where's the real Noriko?"

_Whack!_

Hikaru fell to the ground as he was struck from behind.

"Well done, Hikaru-kun! You figured me out. It's a little late though. You're tired and almost out of chakra while I'm still fresh. That genjutsu I used did take a decent amount of chakra, but not as much as all your attacks did. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Noriko's attack covered Hikaru in burns and he was no longer able to continue the fight. The proctor called the match to an end, naming Noriko the winner. Once the match was ended, Noriko rushed to Hikaru's side.

"Are you alright, Hikaru-kun?"

He groaned, but nodded. "You've gotten stronger. I knew you were focusing on your fire ninjutsu and then your sword, but I forgot all about your genjutsu abilities."

"I know. That's why I used them. You're not the only one who's been learning strategy from Shikako-sensei."

"Good job, Noriko. Good luck with the rest of the exam."

With that, the medics took him away to treat his burns. Noriko went to join the rest of the genin and stood next to Itachi.

"You did very well, Noriko. I'll be surprised if they don't name you chunin."

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely. You displayed good use of strategy to take down your opponent. Your sensei has taught you well."

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><p>After the first round of the exam, the results were this:<p>

**1. Noriko Vs. Hikaru: Winner-Noriko**

**2. Ayaka Vs. Isamu: Winner-Ayaka**

**3. Itachi Vs. Kaede: Winner-Itachi**

**4. Kimiko Vs. Riku: Winner-Riku**

**5. Riku Vs. Shin: Winner-Shin**

Round Two would be:

Noriko Vs. Ayaka and Itachi Vs. Shin

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><p><strong>That's it for this chapter. Hope I did well with the battle. I actually enjoyed writing it, even though I was really hesitant. It was hard figuring out how to have Noriko beat Hikaru. Ayaka and Noriko's fight will be fun though. I really like Ayaka's abilities, and I can't wait to finally use them in battle. <strong>

**Next time will be rounds 2 and 3 of the chunin exams. **

**Please tell me what you think of my battle scene and what I can improve on so Ayaka and Noriko can be even better.**


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